It was a book, then it was a movie,
then it became a musical, but none of the transitions has reduced the
cotton-candy sweetness of Legally Blonde,
that paean to blondes with brains. In its current manifestation at the Summer
Theatre of New Canaan, it is as light and fluffy as ever, with an engaging cast
that has obviously been well-drilled to “think pink.”
For those of you who have not been
“pinkified,” this is the story of Elle Woods (Kara Dombrowski), a sorority girl
from Malibu who
appears to be as light in the head as she is on top of it. Elle is in love with
Warner (Preston Ellis), but graduation at UCLA is nigh and Preston ,
who has dreams of a political career, decides that he needs a woman who is more
“serious,” so he jilts Elle.
The young lady goes into a
tail-spin that involves eating Milky
Ways , but her sorority sisters buck her up and
Elle decides to apply to Harvard
Law School Cambridge .
Initially clueless about the rigors of law school, she is ejected from class by
Professor Callahan (Stephen Hope) but is mentored by Emmett (Matthew
Christian), a teaching assistant, and given sisterly advice by her hairdresser,
Paulette (Jodi Stevens), a lady whose love-life is in the doldrums.
Elle eventually wins an internship
in Callahan’s office and helps the firm win a big-money murder case involving
fitness guru Brook Wyndham (Shannon Mullen), in the process showing that
blondes not only have more fun but can litigate with the best of them.
If you want dramatic meat on the
bones of your musical, you’ll just have to go find where Next to Normal is being performed, but if you want to just sit back
and enjoy some “Omigod!” fun, then Legally
Blonde is your piece of cake, as long as you don’t mind pink icing two
inches high.
As directed by Allegra Libonati,
with athletic (if somewhat derivative) choreography by Doug Shankman, Legally Blonde, with music and lyrics by
Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hatch, is a two-act
romp complete with cute dogs, cheerleaders, a Greek (read sorority) chorus and
enough bounce and spirit to keep you off Red Bull for at least a week.
Julia Noulin-Merat’s extremely
functional unit set allows for easy transitions from Delta Nu’s sorority house
to Harvard Yard to a courtroom (and then a bathroom complete with shower
stall), with some very effective shuttered windows used for emphasis. There’s
enough space for this large cast to do some flamboyant dance numbers, chief
among them the “What You Want” essay and the second act’s “Whipped Into Shape.”
Driving this pink pastiche,
Dombrowski is all one could ask for in a clueless blonde who actually has a
clue. She is lithe, perky and completely engaging. Equally entrancing is
Stevens as the boy-friend-hungry hairdresser -- she has just the right mix of
moxie and insecurity. Although Ellis enters with just a tad too much smarminess
(this is an aspiring Senator?) dressed for a role in Saturday Night Fever, he comes down a bit and does a nice job
breaking up with Elle in “Serious,” and you can’t fault Mullen as the fitness
video queen – she doesn’t seem to be breathing hard at the end of “Whipped,” a
number that would put many of us on the floor gasping. God bless youth – and
training.
Libonati shows she knows what she
is dealing with in Legally Blonde.
There’s not a serious bone in this musical’s structure, so it can easily slide
into sloppy camp if the cast doesn’t sell that they actually buy into the
froth. This cast does. It’s a challenge to be seriously silly, but this cast is
up to the task. From the “Omigod You Guys” opening number to the closing
graduation scene, there’s not a smirk to be seen. The 27-member cast sells the
premise right from the start so, for at least two hours, the audience buys in.
If there’s any problem with the
production it is in A & L Sound Partners sound design. The mix is off – the
orchestra often overwhelms the performers, and even when there’s no music, some
of the dialogue gets lost. Of course, given that this is an open-air theater,
sound is tricky, but balance should go to the talent on stage rather than the
musicians. However, this is early days for the show, which runs through August
9, so the sound problems should be corrected.
In all, Legally Blonde is a perfect “summer” show. It’s light, breezy and
family-friendly. You have to be a dyed-in-the-wool curmudgeon not to respond to
Elle and her efforts to prove that she is serious. It’s a bouncy, bright pink
parfait,
Legally
Blonde runs through August 9. For tickets or more information call
203-966-4634 or go to www.stonc.org
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